SIBU: The rapid growth of online businesses should be seen as a good platform for the government to boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).


Abdul Rahman (left) receiving a memento from Ngadi at the closing of the seminar.

Malaysian Cooperative College (MKM) director-general Dr Abdul Rahman Razak Shaik said the trend should spur the cooperative sector in contributing more to the GDP.

“As at June last year, the contribution from the cooperative sector to GDP only amounted to 0.98 per cent – far from the three-per cent target set by the government,” he said when officiating at the seminar ‘The potentiality of Cooperative in Online Business’ at a hotel here yesterday.

Abdul Rahman believed that the cooperative sector should take on the challenge and be more pro-active in upgrading its role in generating the growth of the nation’s economy.

“It’s time for the sector, especially in Sarawak, to prove their competitiveness in the modern world, based on the Blue Ocean concept,” he said.

Based on statistics released by the Finance Ministry in its Economic Report 2013/2014, the number of Internet users in the country would rise up to 25 million next year versus only 18 million in 2012.

The household rate of broadband usage, Abdul Rahman noted, grew 66.8 per cent till June last year, whereas the broadband usage through cheaper telephone channel recorded a rise of more than 100 per cent with 42.6 million subscribers.

“Statistics also showed that most Internet users in Malaysia were buyers than sellers,” he observed, adding that the value of trade via this line could jump up to RM5 billion this year from RM1.8 billion in 2012.

He said the government encouraged the involvement of cooperative sector in the trade as seen in the Second National Cooperative Policy.

“The core of the second strategy also emphasises the use of modern technology by the sector in its daily transactions. With the facilities and opportunities provided by the government, I am very hopeful that it would benefit the cooperatives,” he saids.

On the seminar, Dr Abdul Rahman said it would serve as a catalyst for the state’s cooperative sector, especially in setting up more branches.

MKM director Ngadi Robin was also present at the event.